Porcupinefish

Diodon hystrix

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth3–21 m
Water temperature20–30 °C
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) Matteo Cassella, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Matteo Cassella · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

The spot-fin porcupinefish, also known as the spotted porcupinefish, black-spotted porcupinefish or simply porcupinefish, is a member of the family Diodontidae.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Spot-fin porcupinefish”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 855 records
February: 726 records
March: 824 records
April: 794 records
May: 691 records
June: 692 records
July: 740 records
August: 779 records
September: 715 records
October: 776 records
November: 698 records
December: 669 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 3–21 m · Deepest record: 2,162 m

0–10 m: 413 records
10–20 m: 302 records
20–30 m: 83 records
30–40 m: 16 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 2 records
60–70 m: 4 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 1 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 4 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–30 °C

20–22 °C: 2 records
22–24 °C: 10 records
24–26 °C: 20 records
26–28 °C: 96 records
28–30 °C: 63 records

Photos

(c) Pauline Walsh Jacobson, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Pauline Walsh Jacobson · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Rachel Allingham, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Rachel Allingham, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Pauline Walsh Jacobson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Porcupinefish, Spot-fin porcupinefish, Ajargo, baiacu-de-espinho, Ballonfish, Black-spotted Porcupinefish, Burrfish, Freckled Porcupinefish, Giant Porcupinefish, Hedgehog, Hedgehog Fish, porcupinefish, Porcupine Fish, Sharptail Mola, Spiny Puffer, spot-fin porcupinefish, Spotted Percupine Fish, Spotted Porcupine, Spotted Porcupinefish

Names in 3 more languages

Spanish: Batana, Batea, Guanabana, Guanábana, Pejerizo Común, Pez Eriso, Pez Erizo Del Punteado, pez erizo pecoso, puerco espín, Puercoespín, Puerco Espino, Puercoespín Pecoso, Tamborillo, Tamboril Pintado
French: Grand Porc-épic, Poisson porc-épic, Porc-épic Boubou, Porc-épic Pointillé, Porc-épine Boubou
Japanese: Nezumifugu, ネズミフグ

Other scientific names: Chilomycterus hystrix, Diodon armillatus, Diodon brachiatus, Diodon histrix, Diodon hystrax, Diodon hystris, Diodon maculostriatus, Diodon nudifrons, Diodon punctatus, Diodon spinosissimus, Diodon totara, Paradiodon hystrix

Similar species

Balloonfish
Diodon holocanthus
Black-blotched porcupinefish
Diodon liturosus
Birdbeak burrfish
Cyclichthys orbicularis
Australian Burrfish
Allomycterus pilatus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
3,000 open-data records from 1758 to 2024.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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